The South Korean won fell against the dollar on Wednesday in reaction to a cautious mood after Greece became the first developed economy to default on a loan with the International Monetary Fund.
The South Korean won was down 0.4 percent at 1,120.0 per dollar as of 0232 GMT from the previous close at 1,115.5.
Analysts said the won’s decline would be limited by local exporters’ demand for month-end settlements.
“Demand from domestic exporters continued around 1,120 level,” said Yuna Park, a foreign-exchange analyst at Dongbu Securities.
Besides the Greece saga, investors were also keeping an eye on key U.S. jobs data later this week. A Reuters poll forecast payroll gains of 230,000. “Market expects the data will be strong,” Park said.
Seoul shares rose as investors picked up bargains following a selloff on Monday, when the market slumped 1.4 percent – the biggest drop in a month.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.8 percent at 2,091.25 points, building on Tuesday’s 0.7 percent bounce. Winning shares outnumbered losers by around 2 to 1.
Kim Yoon-seo, an analyst at KTB Investment & Securities, said the market may have oversold on the Greek worries.
However, “trading volumes are lukewarm today, so it’s not meaningful rebound. Domestic funds are focused on mid and small-caps ahead of earning season,” Kim added.
Samsung C&T Corp and Cheil Industries Inc pared their gains a touch, after a South Korea court denied U.S. fund Elliott’s injunction request seeking to block a shareholder vote on a proposed $8 billion merger between the two companies.